Modelling personal knowledge management
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Modelling personal knowledge management Jo Smedley Newport Business School, University of Wales, Newport, Allt-yr-yn Campus, Newport NP20 5DA, UK.
Abstract
The management of knowledge demonstrates a substantial amount of literature focused at organisational level with the management of people and the development of their skills and knowledge often determining success or failure. However, with increased pace and the use of more informal approaches in workplace communication through modern technologies, success is often determined by the individual knowledge management (KM) of the employees themselves indirectly providing organisational benefits. This article proposes a model for this personal KM, relating traditional organisational KM theory to individual knowledge acquisition and management processes. The influences of peer and hierarchical communities to the personal KM process are also discussed. OR Insight (2009) 22, 221–233. doi:10.1057/ori.2009.11
Keywords: personal knowledge management; communities of practice; explicit knowledge; performance management; reflective practice; tacit knowledge
Introduction In a dynamic and competitive business world, a successful organisation will focus consistently on learning to ensure a stable and sustainable environment for its employees and operations (Easterby-Smith, 1999). Senge (1990) defines a learning organisation to be ‘where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to learn together’. The learning process emphasises regular upskilling of employee skills and reflection to ensure that & 2009 Operational Reasearch Society Ltd 0953-5543 OR Insight www.palgrave-journals.com/ori/
Vol. 22, 4, 221–233
Smedley
processes and performances are adaptable to assure competitive advantage (Gebert et al, 2002). The management of the knowledge base of organisations is an area of strategic focus for many knowledge-intensive organisations. Understanding key knowledge management (KM) processes is a growing area of organisational research efforts (Shariq, 1997; Nielsen, 2006). KM literature recognises the importance of communities of practice in the creation and maintenance of knowledge within organisations (Brown and Duguid, 1991), emphasising this as the ‘missing link’ between individual and organisational learning. Knowledge workers significantly contribute to their organisations by providing solutions to problems, while also developing their own personal knowledge management (PKM) strategies. These practices emphasise natural knowledge processes, linking workers to others with similar expertise, providing employees with security and support in their individual knowledge development. Within the development of such communities of practice, employees relate new knowledge to that which already exists, developing confidence through a step-by-step approach. A changing employment market has resulted in a
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